Shopping for food in Korea can be quite the adventure. Even though we do have access to American food at the commissary, we try to incorporate local foods into our diet as much as possible – for the economy and for the cultural experience.

We’re an adventurous bunch, always willing to try new things that we find at Emart or the local market.

So for this week’s 10 in 10 post, I am sharing ten local Korean foods (or drinks) that I keep in the fridge:

1. Kimchi

Did that one surprise you?

I keep various types of kimchi in the fridge to add to our meals. Our favorite so far has been crisp, crunchy cucumber kimchi.

2. Flavored Tofu

We just recently discovered this treat. Tofu is cheap here and they even make firm tofu that is already flavored.

They taste great in stir fry or added to our soups.

3. Gochujang

Gochujang is a spicy, fermented soy bean paste. That sounds really gross but I can assure you it’s not. It’s like a mix between cocktail sauce and hot sauce.

It’s very different but delicious on grilled meat, burgers, just about anything!

4. Pickled Radishes

You can buy all kinds of different shaped pickled radishes for putting in Kimbap or serving as a side dish. The taste kind of reminds me of bread and butter pickles – kind of sweet with a nice tartness at the back.

I don’t buy these often, but whenever we go out and get fried chicken we end up with 3-4 packages that we snack on through the week.

5. Giant Green Onions

I know you can get green onions in America, but the green onions here are humongous. When I posted a picture of them on Facebook people thought they were leeks.

Giant green onion!

See? I told you so!

6. Chilsung Soda

We are not huge soda people. And Korea is not huge on soda either. You don’t get refills at Burger King here. Most restaurants carry tiny thin cans of Coke and Pepsi for 500 won (50 cents).

But for some reason Jay and I have fallen in love with Chilsung soda. It tastes a lot like 7-up but it’s made with real sugar. It goes great with cranberry juice.

We don’t drink it often, but every once in a while Jay will bring a bottle home to share.

7. Bulgogi Meat and Seasoning

Bulgogi is the king of comfort food for a lot of Koreans. It’s like mac & cheese for us. And it’s super simple to make – even from scratch.

Basically, it is thinly cut beef, marinated in a ginger bbq sauce, and then sauteed or grilled with onions and served over rice.

But I have found that a lot of markets carry the already cut meat and bottles of seasoning for the marinade. I just throw them together overnight.

You can find bottles of bulgogi seasoning in most Asian markets in the US also.